Jeremy VanGelder

I like using potroleum powered equipment. But wow is there a maintenance burden. And the breakdowns pop up when I use the equipment. It's not like a chainsaw or tractor tells me iuring the offseason, "Hey, I'm going to break next time you turn me on." Sometimes I like maintaining the equipment.

My hand tools have a maintenance burden as well. But they are simpler to repair. And easier to inspect. Cracks in a handle are easier to see than the mangled splines on my PTO shaft. Often I choose a hand tool over a machine because I can use the hand tool right now. Not in half an hour.

Carrie Savo wrote:What happened to all the covid gardeners?

I started our garden during Covid and it has been a powerhouse, churning out good food. When we decided to put a garden there early in the year, I dumped whatever leaves I could find on it to weaken the sod. Later that year we ripped and tilled it. Then we planted it and built a massive deer fence. Since then we have covered it every fall. This year I only tilled a small strip of it. The other beds are waiting under the leaves. We still have dry beans, potatoes and pumpkins from last year. So Covid gardeners are still here. But at this point we just think of ourselves as gardeners.

Low Tech Magazine publishes their articles in books. But they are a magazine with articles, not a forum with pages of discussion.

Hey, Paul took his articles from Richsoil.com and from his pseudo blog on the forum, polished them up, and then published them in Building a Better World in Your Backyard . That has a ton of information for preppers.

I think someone on permies would pull a tire through culverts to clean them out. Put a rope down through one end, tie it to the tire. Then tie the other end to a tractor and pull the tire through.

I'm curious if they would germinate anymore? If you grow new beans and harvest them, you would have fresh beans.

I started with cottonwood oil. Not as simple as a spit poultice of plantain. But still really simple. Pick some cottonwood buds (they are in season right now in my climate), soak them in olive oil for a month, strain and use.

Did I mention they are in season right now? Maybe I can show a friend how to do it this year.

I try to not start my car until it is time to drive. Once I had my car parked in a tight garage. My friend couldn't get to the passenger door. So I pushed it out of the garage. He said he wasn't expecting that. But if I can move something by muscle power it is far more efficient than burning gas. And in that case it didn't take any more time.

When I get in the car, I find a place for whatever I am carrying, sit down and buckle up before I turn the car on. Lots of people start the car first thing, so that it can warm up and they can get their music set up. I think the accessory position is perfect for setting up the stereo and heater.

When I have had access to a garage I always try to use it to store my car, not my other stuff. That saves time in the winter. But it also keeps the car cooler in the summer so I don't have to run the AC as long.

Beau M. Davidson wrote:

Jeremy VanGelder wrote:I haven't tried it. But the PineNote runs Linux.

Have you used a pinenote, Jeremy?

I have not.